Don't Fear the Reaper
by mandyluvmom
Summary: After Parker is sent with her partner to hunt down the famous Reaper, Parker begins to have a change in heart. She's trained her whole life for a mission like this but why does she hesitate every chance she gets to kill him? She soon learns that her mixed and mangles emotions might cost her not only her life, but the ones she loves. She must no longer fear the reaper.
1. Chapter 1

Heyy!(: Okay so this is my first Darker Than BLACK fanfic... so I hope you like it. Please please please review so I know if you like it!(: Also I will do constant updates!

Enjoy! 

Chapter 1

I shove my hands in my pockets, shivering as the cold wind whips my hair around my face. Reminding myself that my apartment is only half a block away, I push through the wind, letting the moonlight guide me.

I let out a breath of relief when I reach my apartment. Quickly, I run up the stairs, turning the key and pushing the door open, stepping into the room and slamming the door behind me.

"Kara, you home?" I call, placing my bag on the coffee table next to the door.

"In the kitchen" A small female voice calls back.

I remove my sneakers, placing them on the mat near the table and walk through the archway that leads to the kitchen.

My roomate, Kara, sits at the table, biting her pencil as she reads from her textbook.

"Long day?" She asks, wiping black hair out of her eyes as she looks up at me.

"Work stinks" I mutter, pulling my light brown hair out of a bun and letting my shoulder length hair fall into waves.

"Harth called, he said to meet him in the empty lot at five" She says, looking back down at the textbook.

"Tell him I'm tired" I mutter, exiting the room and entering the living room, collapsing on the couch.

"He says it's mandatory" Kara responds, appearing in the doorway.

I sigh, glancing at the clock below the T.V. The digital numbers read 4pm.

"I'll go" I murmur, flipping on the T.V. "Do you know what he wants now?"

"We have a new target" Kara's voice is distant as she re-enters the kitchen.

"Great" I say, rolling my eyes.

At quarter to five, I step out of Kara's car, slamming the door behind me and walking towards the middle of the lot. Kara's footsteps sounds behind me, quickly catching up to me. A man stands in the middle of the lot, his back facing us.

"You're early" He says as we approach him, not turning to face us.

"Better early than late" Kara responds, earning a nod.

"Glad you made it, this mission is very important. I will need both of you on it" He turns around to face us and I wince at the scar on the left side of his face, still not used to it. "Problem?" His dark eyes turn to look at me and I shake my head quickly.

"No, sir" I respond.

"Everytime you wince. I tell the story. You need it sunken into your brain so you understand why you take the risks that you do" His voice is stern and we both nod.

"Sir, there's n-" Kara starts.

"Don't" He turns towards Kara. "Contractors like you gave me this scar. I fought like the little warrior I was suppose to be and he came out of nowhere and swiped my face with a single silver dagger, causing me to lose sight in my eye" He sighs. "and when my family saw what had been done, they abandoned me in fear that my attacker would attack them too. Do you know what it's like to see your daughter for the last time? The last memory of her being her fear of you?" He asks, his voice lowering in both anger and sadness.

We shake our head.

"But good news" His mood quickly changes, not suprising us. "I found him! I found the one who ruined my life, my future" He pauses. "and I want you two to kill him" he holds a picture out and I grab it.

A man in a white mask stares back at me in the photo. A purple lightening bolt runs over his left eye which is glowing red in the photo.

"A contractor" I whisper and Kara peers over my shoulder, examining the photo.

"Do you know his actual identity?" Kara looks at Harth who shakes his head.

"Not quite yet. He is known as the Black Reaper. His messier code is BK-201" He sighs. "That's all I know.

I look back down on the photo.

"His abilities?"

"He can change matter on a molecular level" Harth answers.

"So...electricity and crap?" Kara asks.

"Basically... He is very fast and stronger than you may think. Be careful, he easily outsmarts people"

"When do we start?" I ask, looking up.

"Tonight" He responds.

I lay on the rooftop, biting into a granola bar. Kara sits beside me, watching the sky.

"What exactly are we looking for?" I ask and Kara looks down at me, sighing.

"Activity on BK-201's star" She responds.

"Oh" I finish my granola bar, shoving the wrapper into my bag.

"There it is!" She yells before covering her mouth.

"There's what?"

"His star... it's showing activity"

"That's cool, now how do we find him?" I ask and she sighs.

"I guess I should have thought this over" She mutters.

"Put your masks on" Harth's voice sounds through the earpiece I am wearing and I grab my bag, digging out my mask and placing it on my face.

My mask is a simple white mask with black diamonds that cross over the eye-holes. Black eyesbrows are painted on and black lines where my eyes are. It covers half my face and if I'm not in a hurry, I paint my lips black to add to the mystery.

Kara grabs the bag from me, taking her full face mask out that is covered in silver swirls. I press the button down on my earpiece.

"Masks on, what's next?" I ask.

"Sighting of the Reaper on Hirly Street, one mile south of your location" His voice sounds in response.

"What direction is he heading?" Kara asks into her own earpiece.

"North"

"What exactly is he doing?" I ask.

"Walking through alleyways... seems to have a target. Stay on the rooftop. When you catch sighting of him, split" He directs.

"Copy" Kara responds.

I dig into my bag, placing throwing knifes in my belt and tossing Kara her swords. She catches them, placing them in the case on her back for easy access. I pull on my black coat and pull my brown hair back into a loose ponytail.

"Ready?" I look over at Kara and she nods.

We both stand on opposite sides of the rooftop, glancing into the alleyways below us. We stay like this for about five minutes.

"Sighting of the Reaper heading North, walking slowly, Parker follow him along the rooftop, I'll climb down and walk behind him." Kara's voice sounds in the earpiece and I nod, taking off into a sprint to the edge of the rooftop.

Once at the edge, I push myself off the ground, lunging into the air. For a moment I am airbourne before I roll onto the roftop ten feet below and jog across it. Once at the edge of the rooftop, I get into a crouching position.

A black trench coat and white mask flashes into alley below me and I follow him along the roof. He pauses at the end of the alley and I crouch again, peering over the rooftop.

"Target has stopped moving" Kara whispers into the earpiece.

I stay silent, watching him, twenty feet below me. A cat meowing makes me jump and I turn my head to face a black cat. It hisses at me and I place my finger over my lips, hushing it.

When it meows again I glare at it behind my mask before looking back down into the alley to find it empty.

"Target has disapeared, any sightings Parker?" Kara's voice sounds and I sigh, pressing down on the earpiece.

"No sightings" I respond.

"Abort mission" Harth's voice sounds and I stand up, spinning around.

I jump when I spot the Reaper ten feet away from me on the rooftop.

"Parker, don't move, sighting of the reaper near you... do you respond?" Harth asks.

I reach my finger up, pressing the back-up button before quickly dodging a dagger.

I reach into my belt, grabbing a throwing knife and whipping it in his direction before charging at him. He catches the knife as I sweep his legs out from under him, causing him to fall onto his back.

"Almost there, hold him off" Kara's voice sounds as I grab another knife, bending down to stab it into him. His gloved hand grips my wrist as the knife is inches from his eye.

I yelp as he flips me onto my back, leaning on me. His eyes begin to turn red behind his mask and I quickly slide out from under him.

Once we are both in standing position, circling each other, Kara finally appears behind him, drawing her swords. I she swipes one at his back and he yells out in suprise, spinning around and knocking the sword from her hands, throwing her to the ground.

His hands wrap around her throat and I run towards him as a blue aura becomes visible around his body.

Kara cries out before I tackle him off of her, digging one of my knifes into his stomach. He falls limp for a moment and I get off him, running over to Kara who lays unconsious. I check her pulse, letting out a sigh of relief as I hear her steady heartbeat.

Fingers wrap around my neck, pulling me up and slamming me against a billboard ontop of the rooftop. I scratch at the fingers around my neck, coming face to face with the Reaper.

"Why did you follow me?" He asks, his voice threatening.

"Why should I tell you" I hiss at him and his grip tightens.

"Because I'll kill you if you don't" He responds.

"Hei, that's enough, let her go, we need to go now" A male voice sounds from behind us.

"One moment Mao, I'm going to finish this" The Reaper responds.

"Can we do this another time, you are needed at the moment"

"Shut up" Hei hisses. While he's distracted, I take advntage of the moment and knee him where the sun don't shine. He curses, doubling over in pain and releasing me.

I sprint across the rooftop, grabbing Kara's unconsious body and jumping into the alley below. My feet tingle from the impact of the fall but I quickly recover, throwing Kara over my shoulder and running. A car waits outside the alleyway and I open the door, throwing Kara in.

A dagger whips by my ear, digging into the roof of the car and I dive into it, slamming the door. The driver accelerates quickly, and I quickly reconize him as Harth.

"Not as easy as you thought?" He asks, glancing into the rearview mirror and I hiss in pain, ripping my jacket off.

"You sent us on a suicide mission" I mutter.

"Because I knew you could escape"

"Great, now are we done with him?"

"No, I gave you a mission and you need to complete it" His voice is stern.

"You want me dead, don't you?"

"Think of it as trainging. Speaking of training... it's tomorrow at 4... don't be late..."

I don't bother arguing. Laying my head against the cool glass of the window, I replay tonights events, thinking of ways it could have gone better and preparing my mind for our next encounter.

Trust me. Next time we meet. The Reaper will die.

~~~~~~~~  
A/N

Okay so there's the first chapter! Remember to review and favorite!(: Any ideas? I love ideas!(:

Hope you loved it(:

Until next chapter,

Amanda(:


	2. Train to kill

**Hello again!(: So here it is...(: Don't forget to R&R!**

**Chapter 2**

My alarm sounds at quarter to 4 in the morning and I groan, rolling over to hit the snooze button.

"I wouldn't do that" Harth's voice makes me jump.

"just five minutes" I cover my face with the covers and cry out when they are ripped off me.

"Training, now" Harth grabs my foot, flipping me off the bed. I land on the floor with a thud.

"Ow" i mumble through a mouthful of the carpet.

"Don't make me repeat myself" He says before walking out of the room.

I groan, slipping out of my boxer shorts and into sweatpants and a wife beater. I pull my hair into a loose ponytail and walk out of the room.

Kara sits at the table spooning Cheerios out of a bowl.

"You're okay?" I ask, slipping into the chair beside her and pouring my bowl.

"Yeah... that son of a biscuit electrocuted me" She murmurs. "I still feel tingly"

"I should have just ran instead of fighting him... Harth is going to rip us apart in training"

"It would have been worse if you ran... thanks for saving me by the way" she smiles at me and I realize the radio in the background.

"Listen to the song..." I whisper and we both stay silent as Don't Fear the Reaper plays before bursting into fits of laughter.

"What happened last night was because of lack of training." Harth stands in the middle of the caged mat. "and I apologize for that... I'm sending you through the knife simulator Parker... also practice your main skill... Kara why did you have Parkers swords last night?"

"I forgot my bow..." Kara bows her head and Harth sighs.

"What happened tomorrow night will not happen again. First to get him is first to kill him." He meets our eyes. "Is this clear?"

"Yes sir" Kara says and I nod my head.

"Start" He commands and Kara and I run in different directions.

Standing in front of the large door I take a deep breath, grabbing knives off the shelf beside it and flipping open a keypad next to the door. I press my finger against it and watch the door swing open before stepping in.

"Welcome Parker" The mechanical voice says as the door slams shut and I'm left in a black room. "Today we will practice speed and aim"

"Okay" I respond.

"Please step forward and hit the targets. Time to beat. 5 seconds." The female voice begins counting down from 10 and I get in a readying stance, balancing the knives between my fingers. "4, 3" I take a deep breath. "2, 1" The room is silent for a moment before it lights up, temporarily blinding me. "and start"

I whip a knife at the target directly in front of me. Another one pops up to my left and I whip another knife. Two targets pop up and I throw two knives at a time, hitting them square in the chest before spinning around and slamming the knife into the middle of the last target.

"Well done. Not quite there. 5.7 seconds total. Again" The womans voice sounds and I sigh.

I continue four more times before getting 4.6 seconds.

"Greatly done. Now... moving targets." I sigh.

After an hour of knife throwing, the simulator finally lets me go. I walk out the door, grabbing a towel off the shelf and wiping my sweat.

Kara stands in the cage, throwing punches at Harth who easily dodges.

"My grandma throws punches faster than that!" Harth yells his usual remarks as he jumps over Kara's attempted leg sweep.

"Parker, nice of you to join us, ready up, you're next!" Kara laughs as I groan, jogging up to the cage.

"Kill him, Kara!" I yell and Harth shoots me a teasing glare before throwing a punch at Kara and knocking her onto her back. She falls to the ground, her fall echoing loudly in the gym.

"your turn, Parker" Harth turns to me as Kara limps out of the cage. I high-five her before slipping under the rope and entering the cage. "Ready?"

"No question is, are you ready?" I ask and he laughs.

"Born ready" He steps forward, throwing a punch. I duck under it, my fist colliding with his stomach.

He doubles over in surprise and I lift my knee, causing his head to fly up and back. He hisses in pain and steps forward, faking a punch to my face and sweeping my legs. I fall onto my back before putting my arms above my head and flipping up. I punch him in the side and aim a blow at his chin. He flies backwards and lands on his back. I advance on him, punching him in the stomach and pulling out a knife. I thrust it at him, stopping inches above his face.

"Well done" He smiles at me and Kara claps. I slip the knife back into my belt.

Later that night, I shove my face with noodles and Kara laughs, taking her time on hers. I'm on my fourth bowl before I get full, leaning back in my chair and rubbing my belly. The waitress comes over, taking the dirty dishes and I smile in content.

"I love this place" I smirk and Kara laughs.

"You didn't even taste your food" She accuses, pointing her chopsticks at me and I shrug.

"Problem?" I ask and she laughs.

I glance around the room and pause when I see a young man sitting at the table across from ours. His black hair covers his eyes and next to him is a stack of over six empty bowls. He seems to be on his seventh.

"At least I don't eat that much" I whisper to Kara, glancing in his direction and she giggles.

"It's not fair... he's still skinny and we have to work to stay skinny"

"So not fair" I say, nodding in agreement.

His eyes meet mine when I glance at him again and I quickly look away.

After we exit the restaurant, I spot a small shop kitty corner to it.

"I'm going to go get some snacks... meet you at the apartment?"

"Deal" Kara hands me my bag. "Put in your earpiece... just in case" She smiles at me and I nod.

I turn my back to her, walking towards the store. I pause at the entrance, digging through the front pocket of my bag and grabbing my earpiece. Once I find it, I place it in my ear, pressing the on button. A high-pitched sound comes through it and I clench my ear, dropping to my knees.

"Sorry, sorry, technical difficulty, one moment" Kara's voice sounds over the noise. Once it finally vanishes I let out a sigh.

"Are you okay?" A male asks from above me and I look up. The man from the restaurant stares down at me and I quickly recover.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... I just dropped my... oh there it is!" I fake grab something off the ground and shove it in my pocket.

"Oh, you looked like you were in pain" He raises an eyebrow and I shake my head.

"Nope, I'm fine but thank you" I smile at him and start to walk away.

"I'm Li" He says from behind me and I spin around to face him again.

"Haley" I use a fake name and he smiles.

"It's nice to meet you Haley... I'm glad you are okay" He says and I nod.

"Thanks" I repeat.

"See you around?"

"Yeah of course" I smile and surprise myself on how real it actually is before turning and walking towards the store.

"How's your day been, Haley" Kara teases over the earpiece and I sigh.

"Shut up" I mutter. "How did you even hear me, I don't have the button pressed"

"Your buttons jammed, must have been from the fight."

"Girls, I need you to gear up, I have a target for you, meet at the top of soap factory" Harth's voice sounds through my earpiece.

"No Reaper right?" Kara asks.

"Hopefully not" Harth responds and we both sigh.

"Can I get groceries first?" I ask and Harth sighs.

"Groceries after mission" He says and I sigh.

"Give me the coördinates" I mutter.

Twenty minutes later, I'm sitting in an alley wearing all black and my mask. I hold one of my swords in my hand, running a gloved hand across the blade.

"My blade is dull, remind me to sharpen it" I tell Kara.

"I need new arrows" She responds on the earpiece.

"I need a new earpiece so you can't hear everything I say"

"Something to hide?" Kara asks teasingly.

"I'm not made of money" Harth says, butting into the conversation. "Now, target is heading your way, Parker, be careful and do what you learned this morning"

"Copy" I respond.

Ten minutes later, footsteps sound in the alley followed by voices.

"You sure he said to meet here?" The first male voice asks.

"Yeah" Pause. "These are the coördinates" The second male voice answers.

"I just have a bad feeling about this" The first one sighs.

I peer my head out from behind the dumpster, examining the two young men.

"I'll go check out the end of the alley" The second man says, earning a nervous nod from the first man.

I slip my sword back into its case on my back and watch as the man nears me. The first man heads towards the opening of the alleyway, his back to us.

I jump out of my hiding spot once the man is close enough, being quick as I throw a punch under his chin, knocking him out cold. Dragging his unconscious body, I throw it behind the dumpster and blend back into the shadows as the first man turns around.

"Frank?" He asks nervously. "You find anything?" No response. He walks towards the end of the alleyway. "Frank this isn't funny"

I step out of the shadows, cracking my knuckles.

"You know, for contractors, I thought this job would be a lot harder" I say and the man jumps back. "So tell me, what's your price?" I ask.

The man smirks at me as his aura begins to turn blue, his eyes a bright right. I watch as his face morphs into a different one.

"Guess you will have to wait and find out" He smirks before diving at me.

I dodge him, grabbing a knife out of my belt and whipping it at him. It sticks in his arm and he pauses to rip it out, hissing in pain.

"Now that wasn't very nice" He frowns at me.

"I was never one to play nice" I hiss before diving at him again, drawing my sword and swiping it at him. He dodges it, grabbing my blade and I pull it back, slicing his hand.

"Son of a-" he doesn't finish his sentence before I drive the blade into his chest. I rip it out quickly and he falls to his knees, clenching his chest.

I wipe the blood off on my black jacket before slipping the sword back into its case and bending down to his level.

"I was going to have you send a message but I can see you're in no condition for that" I smirk at him as blood drips out of his mouth and down his chin. "So, tell me, what was your price again?"

He falls motionless on his face into the concrete and I sigh as blood pools around him.

"Darn, I didn't hear his price" I frown before going over to the dumpster to grab the other mans body.

A pause as a thin wire wraps around my ankle, tugging me back so I flip onto my back. I yelp and push myself up.

"That wasn't very nice of you" A familiar voice says and I push myself up, coming face to face with the Reaper.

"What, killing the killer?" I place my hands on the handle of my swords.

"There's no need for that, I'm not here to fight you" He says and I draw my swords, not believing it.

"Parker, is that the reaper?" Harth's voice asks.

"Confirmed, that is in fact the Reaper. I'm watching from the rooftop, he doesn't seem to be making any moves" Kara's voice sounds.

"Tell your friends I have a message" The Reaper pulls me out of the conversation between Kara and Harth.

"Yes?"

"Tell Harth that if he sends you to kill me one more time, loss of his eye is the nicest thing I'm going to do" His voice is low and I know it isn't an empty threat.

"I'm not here to kill you" I hiss at him and he nods.

"Not yet" He says before turning around and disappearing into the shadows.

**Please Review and Favorite and I will continue to update!(:**


	3. Desperation and prices

**Remember to R&R!**

**Chapter 3**

Stupid Stupid Stupid. I let him get away. How stupid. I could have had him right there!

I stand in the back of the room, cursing myself out for what seems like forever.

"Parker, pay attention" Harth pulls me out of my thoughts and I look back at the glass in front of me. Kara stands behind it, leaning over the man from the alley who is tied to the chair.

I reach forward, turning on the speakers to tune in.

"-don't know where he is" The man, Frank, stutters.

"I sense that you are lying" Kara shakes her head, running her finger over the blade out of the knife before pressing it to his arm and slicing down it. A thin line of blood appears.

"I should go in..." I say.

"You've done enough" Harth hisses at me and I step back from the glass.

"What is this even for?" I ask, brushing off Harth's harsh tone.

"A contractor has been illegally selling dolls... and we are going to put a stop to it"

"Since when did we care about dolls" I mutter and he grabs me by the front of my shirt.

"Don't you think you've done enough, Parker?" He hisses and I smell something on his breath.

"You're drunk" I whisper.

"Leave" He says, shoving me towards the door and I stumble before regaining my balance.

"Harth..." I bite my lip.

"Go!" He yells at me and I jump before turning and running out the door.

I trip and fall onto my knees, the wet grass in front of the warehouse soaking into my jeans.

Harth never yelled or striked me. Something was terribly wrong. I push the sadness down and replace it with anger. I begin my long hike back to the apartment.

I wear my mask, running along the rooftops. I quickly jump off of the current roof, rolling onto the one below. I skid to a stop when I see movement in the alley below. Getting into a crouching position I watch.

The Reaper stands in the alley below, his hand on another man's head. I immediatly reconize him as the man in the picture Harth had showed us of the target.

And the Reaper was about to kill him.

Suddenly, an idea materializes in my mind. Harth won't be mad at me if I get the man before the Black Reaper does.

Thinking fast, I drop from the roof, silently landing behind the Reaper. He doesn't seem to notice.

Kill the reaper... get the man... I'll be his favorite.

I slide my swords out silently before throwing myself forward. The Reaper quickly ducks under my blades and I pull back before I cut the man. The man starts to run and without glancing around, I slip my swords back in the case, sprinting after the man.

I'm much faster and I quickly tackle him down, pinning him to the ground before throwing multiple punches at his face. He quicly falls unconscious and I reach into my pocket, grabbing my earpiece and placing it in my ear.

I cry out when something digs into my arm. Spinning around, I rip the dagger out of my arm, hissing in pain. The Reaper stands ten feet away from me, ready to throw another dagger.

I quickly press the on button on the earpiece before drawing my swords. We circle each other for a moment before he throws his arm out. I cry out as something wraps around my waist, pulling me towards him. I look down to find a metal wire wrapped around it.

I struggle to get free but he grabs me slamming me into the wall so we are face to face, his hand wrapped around my slim neck.

I reach up, pressing the backup button on my earpiece.

"I have a feeling that you weren't sent here" He comments, his grip tightening around my throat as I scratch at his hands, desperate to free myself.

"Why should I tell you" I hiss.

"You say that a lot" He comments. "Too bad those will be your last words" His grip tightens around my neck and I watch as his eyes begin to glow red behind his mask.

I panic. When I say panic, I mean I did the stupidest thing I could have done.

Closing my eyes, I will my ability to work. When I feel the power building up in my fingertips, I pull us both through the brick wall. We both fall to the ground in the abandoned warehouse.

He lets out a sound of suprise as I scramble up. His hand wraps around my ankle but he's unable to grip it, his hand slipping right through it.

"You're a contractor" he hisses and I take off in a sprint through the wall.

Once I'm back in the alleyway, I run to the door leading to the warehouse and use one of my knives to jam it shut.

The man's motionless body lies in the alley near me and I run towards it, noticing the voice in my ear for the first time.

"Parker, is everything okay? Parker? Answer me!" Kara's voice screams.

I fall to my knees next to the man and grab one of my knives out.

"I found the man... the one selling the dolls..." I manage to choke out before pressing the knife down on my arm and slicing down it.

I hiss in pain as blood drips down my arm before pushing myself up and putting the knife away.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" Kara asks and I give her the coordinates of my location.

"Um" i glance at the man's body. "I also have our target..." I say.

"Why did you leave?" She asks.

"Harth was drunk and threw me out"

"I noticed he was being quite violent earlier..." She sighs. "Be there in ten minutes with the truck.

"Try to be fast... I have the Reaper locked in the warehouse"

"Woah, two in one! You go girl! How did you do it?" She asks.

"Skills" I half lie.

Fifteen minutes later, we are tieing the man up in the back of the truck before heading over to the warehouse. I pull my knife out of the door, wiggling it open and entering. Kara is in a fighting position as we walk forward.

I notice that the lights are shorted out but through the dim glow, we see a large hole in the ceiling.

"Gosh darnit!" Kara stomps her foot.

"Maybe next time" I sigh and Kara looks over at me, her eyes widening when she sees my arm.

"You..." She starts and I nod. "I thought..."

"I know... I thought they were gone too... I guess it only works when I panic" I shrug.

"Let's head back" She changes the topic and I nod in agreement.

Once back at headquarters, we both carry the man in, throwing him in the questioning room and locking the door. Harth stands behind the glass, his arms crossed.

"Good work, Parker" Harth slurs.

"I think you should get to bed Harth... We will be on the lookout" Kara says and Harth nods.

"Good work girls" He says before stumbling out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

I sigh, walking over to a ladder attached to the wall a few feet away and climbing it. A rope hangs for the ceiling and I pull it down. A bed comes down from the ceiling and I climb into it.

"I'm going to bed" I say, pulling the covers over me.

"Same" Kara responds, pulling down a bed from her side of the room.

"Goodnight" I murmur, clapping the lights out.

"Night" She responds.

I wake up in the morning to a loud thumping sound. Kara and I exchange looks before jumping off the beds.

The man from the night before stands, banging his fists against the glass of the window and calling for help.

"I'll take care of him" Kara mutter, unlocking the door that leads to the other side of the glass. The man run for it and Kara grabs him, twisting his arm behind him and pressing his face against the glass. "Get me the rope!" She calls and I nod, grabbing rope of the table in the middle of the room and running it to her.

She ties the man's hands behind his back before slamming him into the chair in the center of the room and tying him to it. I watch as she pulls duck tape out of her pocket, wrapping it around his head to cover his mouth a muffle his cries for help.

"Shut up" She hisses at him, slamming the door as she walks out. I run over, locking it.

"Where's the other man?"

"Well when you called saying you found him, I took care of him" her smile says it all.

"Let's not go into detail" I sigh. "I'm going to go to the apartment and change then get those groceries.

"Okay" She smiles, winking at me as I walk out the door.

I walk down the road, my bag weighing my back down. It's early morning so it is still dark and chilly out. I regret not bringing a jacket as goosebumps rise on my arms.

"Haley!" A voice calls from behind me and I spin around at the sound of my fake name to see Li jogging towards me.

"Oh hey, Li!" I fake a friendly smile.

"I didn't know you got up this early" He says, raising an eyebrow.

"I-" I pause, narrowing my eyes at his black hair. The hair that resembled the Black Reapers.

"Everything okay?" He asks, placing a hand on my shoulder and sending warmth down my arm.

"Yeah" I brush off the coincidence.

"Well , since you are up, want to grab something to eat? I was just on my way to breakfast at this cool diner up the street..." He points towards downtown.

"I have to get home and do some stuff" I lie.

"Aw, okay, maybe another time?" He asks and I nod, examining his white button up and jeans. Nothing seemed suspicious about him.

"Yeah, of course" I smile before turning around and heading home.

I felt like an actual contractor at that moment. One with no feelings. The kind everyone fears.

The perfect opportunity to be normal and I blew it. Why exactly? I had no idea. Maybe it's because that small part of me screamed go but the other said no. It told me to just walk away before I hurt anyone else.

The rest of the walk home was silent and I throw my bag to the side as I enter the apartment before heading to the bathroom and stripping out of my dirty clothes.

I curse silently to myself as I realize I was still wearing my all black outfit when Li saw me. At least I had put the swords and belt in my bag...

The warm water that runs down my back burns at my still open wounds from the past few battles. I step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around me before going over to the medical cabinet. Pulling out gauze and cleaning supplies, I clean the wound from the dagger that the Reaper had threw into the back of my arm before wrapping it in gauze.

The slice on my arm has crusted blood around it and I pour peroxide onto a cotton ball, cleaning down the slash.

Self-mutilation. That was my price. For every time I used my power, I had to cut myself. Weird right? Trust me, there's stranger.

One contractor I had killed, his price was to drink the blood of an infant. Every time I killed a contractor, I asked their price. I found it intriguing to know people had it worse than me. Even if sometimes it wasn't true.

Up until last night... I thought I had no longer had my power. After being near the conflict that caused hell's gate to be put up, I was taken in and experimented on. This erased all my previous memories of my life. I still have flashbacks and I can piece together bits and pieces but that's all I have left of my real life. My normal life. Trust me, I clung to those small flashbacks.

But occasionaly, they come as nightmares, tearing through every part of my body until I feel as if i'm on fire. The feeling of burning alive leaves me to believe that perhaps I was caught in the crossfire of some kind of explosive.

Harth broke Kara and I out of the lab just as they were about to exterminate us. I am thankful but at the same time, maybe I wanted to die. Maybe I just wanted to go back to my normal life. Maybe in death I would recall my memories and they would replay in my head like a broken record.

That's my dream. To remember.


	4. Bringing back the memories

**Another chapter! Remember to review review review and favorite!(:**

**Chapter 4**

Go to a restaurant and shove your face. Play charades with non-existent friends. Have conversations with inanimate objects. Confess your love to noodles. Go shopping with your friend. Stalk people downtown. Buy random stuff you don't need. Build a tower of Lego's.

I lay upside down on the couch, my legs dangling over the back of it as I count the cracks in the ceiling.

I have a day off. A day off of training, hunting, and killing.

This has only happens once a year so you would think I would use it better... wrong.

Harth called the day off when he appeared at our front door with a hangover. Kara was watching the man we had captured and I was left alone. I could have gone and kept Harth company but I was afraid that he still had some negativity left in him and voted against it.

Sighing, I slide off the couch and head to the kitchen, looking through the fridge and sighing when nothing looks good. Probably because I just checked it five minutes ago.

_You're not hungry, you're just bored. _

I repeat the words over in my head so I don't begin shoving my face with food that I don't need. I let out a sound of frustration, slamming the door shut and stomping to my room.

Slipping off my sweats, I slip on skinny jeans and a purple t-shirt. I finish it with a black jacket to fend off the wind. Deciding on keeping my hair down, I brush it out so the waves are tame before grabbing the keys off the table and heading out the door.

Once outside, I begin walking towards town, shoving my keys in my pocket.

Ten minutes later, I stand in front of a shop window, examining the .22 revolver sitting on the display table. Raising an eyebrow, I argued with myself on if I really needed a gun. I skim over my belt I had slipped on before I left. Four knives line it alone with pepper spray. Did I really need a gun. It's the price that caught my eye though. $50.

"I didn't know you were into guns" A voice says from behind me and I spin around, facing Li.

"You don't know a lot about me" I defend and he holds his hands up.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you" He says before shoving them back into his pockets.

"Sorry, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night" I sigh and he nods his head as if understanding.

"It's all good, we all have those days" He smiles at me and I can't help but smile back.

"Yeah" I laugh. "They stink."

"Yup, so I was just heading up to the noodle place" He points towards the direction of all the restaurants. "And I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join, unless you're busy again, if you are I completely understand" He adds quickly.

I weigh my options.

Go grab some lunch with Li. A man whom I had just met a few days ago. Or go back home and bore my brains out while eating the house down. Finally, I make a decision.

"I probably can clear my schedule for an hour or so" I say and he smiles.

"Great, let's go" He leads the way and I follow closely behind.

Hei/Li's POV

Sitting at the edge of the slide at the playground, I keep my head low. Huang sits on the bench near me and Yin sits on the swing set, swinging silently.

"You have a new target" Huang's voice is low and he holds a newspaper in front of him so any passers don't know we were talking. He frisbees a photo at me and I reach my arm out, catching it at the tip of my fingers and bringing to close to look at.

A young girl smiles back at me through the picture, her blue eyes shining brightly and her long brown hair waves down her back, shining in the sunlight. Behind her, is a women and a man, both wearing matching smiles.

"Who is this?" I keep my head down. The picture reminded me of Bai and I. Before the incident.

"Parker Nowell. The picture is from 9 years ago" He pauses. "She was taken away from her family and used for experimenting, erasing all her memories"

"Like a doll?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"No, she still has feelings." he glances over at Yin, who stares at the ground, unaware of her surroundings. "This man took her and another unidentified girl in" He hands another picture and I sigh when I see who it is. "You probably recognize him"

"Yeah, I took out his eye" I recall the memory of the battle.

"Continuing, he took the girls in as weapons, convincing them that there was no way to recall their memories. Taking away their hope. Turning them into killing machines" He sighs.

"And what exactly do you want me to do?" I ask, my tone harsh enough to push any feeling down.

"I want you to find her. I want you to give her hope again. and then I want you to kill her" Huang finishes.

"Why bring her memories back if I'm going to kill her? and how am I going to bring back those memories?" I hiss, not seeing the logic.

"Because we are going to crush her like her family once crushed us... the key to bringing back to the memories is allowing her to become connected to someone. Soon, the memories and interactions with the person she grows closer too will resemble some she may have had in the past." Huang stands up, folding the newspaper.

I think for a moment about the mission.

"Do you accept?" Huang asks, turning away.

I hesitate for a moment before sighing.

"I accept"

"Good" Huang replies and I stop him before he walks away.

"Wait. Harth has sent two girls after me. One is a contractor. Any idea the identities?" I ask and Huang shakes his head.

"No idea... but take care of them" He says before walking away.

Parker's POV

I watch as Li works on inhaling his fifth bowl of noodles before staring down at my half-eaten second one.

"Hungry?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and he nods.

"Problem?" He asks, pushing the now empty bowl aside. I laugh and reach forward, using my napkin to wipe a noddle off his chin.

"Saving that for later?" I tease and he smirks.

"Maybe I was" He jokes and I laugh.

"Well, then I apologize"

"Wanna head out?" He asks and I nod. He places money on the table and I grab my bag, following him out the door.

We walk down the street and he grabs my hand, pulling me towards a nearby park. We sit down in the grass near the woods, facing the canal.

"So, tell me about yourself" He turns towards me and I shrug.

"I don't really have much to tell" I shrug and he raises an eyebrow.

"No funny parent stories?" I wince at the mention of parents. "Unless..."

"No, my parents didn't pass, I think" I say the last part under my breath.

"Oh" He says, not catching the last part. "Well... brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles..."

"I live with a family friend" I say. Not a complete lie. "My parents left me when I was young" It's not lying if you don't know the truth.

"Oh, I'm sorry" He places his hand over mine and I flinch away. He quickly pulls his hand back, his face flushing. "Sorry"

"No it's fine... I'm just a bit jumpy" is sigh, tilting my head back and looking at the sun.

"It's fine" He smiles at me, understandingly.

"So, tell me about yourself"

"Well I'm a transfer student from China" He shrugs.

"Family?"

"I had a sister, she went missing after Hell's gate"

"I'm sorry" I hesitate a moment before reaching over and putting my hand on top of his like he had did to mine. He looks up at me, giving me a sad smile.

The world around me begins to blur and I panic.

_"Parker, Parker, where are you?" A voice calls and I close my eyes. When I open them again, I'm standing back downtown. _

_"You'll never find me!" A little voice rings out from behind a building. I jog, following the voice. Something blurs by me and I recognize it as a small boy. _

_"Found you!" He yells as he turns to the corner. I follow him and watch as he tackles the young girl to the ground. I immediately recognize the girl as me. _

_Was this a memory?_

_"Parker, Jonathon, where are you?!" A women's voice calls and I follow the kids as they jog towards the voice. The women stands on the sidewalk, a basket of groceries under her arm. _

_"Jon tackled me!" The small me cries out and Jon crosses his arms. _

_"Did not, she's a liar liar pants on fire" He defends. _

_"There, there, be nice to your sister and no more tackling" The women begins walking and the kids follow closely behind. _

_"Sorry mom" The boy, Jon mutters. _

_"It's okay honey" She turns around, smiling down at them and I run towards her. _

_"Mom? Is that you?" I step in front of her, immediately recognizing her. She turns to face me before walking through me. I cry out and turn around, walking beside her and examining her. "Mom, why can't you hear me?" I go to grab her arm and stop her but my hand goes through her arm. _

_I turn around, facing the my brother and I. He reaches over, grabbing my hand and we skip behind my mom happily. _

"Haley, Haley, are you okay?" Li's voice pulls me back to reality and I jump backwards. "What happened? You just... left the world." He uses the metaphor but it seems so real.

"I...I have to go" I stand up, stumbling backwards. Li stands up, gripping my arms to help me regain balance and I flinch away from his grip, afraid to be pulled back into another flashback.

Flashbacks of memories I thought I was ready to remember. Truth be told, I wasn't.

"Haley..."

"I have to go" I try again, turning to leave.

"You don't look well at all..." He argues.

"I'm fine" I lie before breaking into a sprint towards downtown.

Once downtown, I slow down, running into an alley. I slide down the wall, placing my bag beside me and digging my phone out of it and dialing a number.

"Hello?" A voice answers.

"I need your help, Harth" I breathe into the phone before hanging up and hanging my head between my knees, unable to cry.

I had a family. I had a mom and a brother and we loved each other. I should be happy right? But I wasn't. Because now I know what I lost.

**Hope you enjoyed! Review and favorite!(:**


End file.
